Police and Firefighters Member Handbook: Introduction
This handbook summarizes your rights and benefits as a member of the 1977 Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension and Disability Fund (1977 Fund).
General Information
The 1977 Fund was established to pay pension, disability, and survivor benefits to eligible public safety officers and their survivors.
Effective July 1, 2011, the Board of Trustees of the Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS) will administer the fund. After that time, any references made to the PERF Board in handbooks and other written materials will mean the INPRS Board.
The Fund consists of member contributions, employer contributions, and earnings. These amounts are used to make benefit payments to Fund members and their survivors as specified by Indiana statutes.
What is the 1977 Fund?
The 1977 Fund was established to pay pension, disability, and survivor benefits to eligible public safety officers and their survivors.This handbook explains the benefit provisions to the members and employers of the 1977 Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension and Disability Fund.
Coverage
Membership in the 1977 Fund is mandatory for full-time, fully-paid police officers and firefighters who work for employers participating in the 1977 Fund and who are hired or rehired after
April 30, 1977.
However, to become a member of the 1977 Fund, a police officer or firefighter must:
- *Pass the required statewide baseline physical, the local board's mental examinations; and
- Be less than 36 years of age.
*Your department may administer additional physical agility or mental examination tests.
- Members who directly transfer from one 1977 Fund-covered position to another are required to be reexamined under the baseline medical exam and are not subject to the maximum age limit for membership.
- If the enrollment effective date of an otherwise qualified 1977 Fund member is or was delayed due to an error or omission by the local board or hiring authority, the member or the member’s employer may purchase service at the actuarial cost that would have been credited to the 1977 Fund for that error or omission. The member is not prohibited from joining the 1977 Fund if he or she was age eligible at the time of application.
Members of the 1977 Fund may purchase up to two years of military service credit, under certain conditions.
Members of the 1977 Fund may purchase, at full actuarial cost, prior service in other public retirement funds including the Public Employees' Retirement Fund, Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund, State Excise Police, Gaming Agent, Gaming Control Officer and Conservation Enforcement Officers' Retirement Plan, the State Police Trust and the Sheriff's Pension Trust.
Members of the 1977 Fund may purchase, at full actuarial cost, service earned out of state in a position for which the 1977 Fund would give credit if the service were earned in Indiana.
Base Salary
Throughout this handbook, you will see references to the term “base salary.” All benefits paid by the 1977 Fund are calculated according to this amount. The base salary is defined by state law as the salary of a first-class police officer or firefighter plus all longevity increases (if provided by the employer) for service of 20 years or less, as certified to the 1977 Fund by each department. Upon retirement, benefits are based on the base salary effective for your department in the year your service ends. This first-class salary varies from employer to employer and is certified annually to the 1977 Fund.Section Two: Contributions
